Tottenham cake

Square cake tin - This one is a great and affordable option for a basic traybake – see more details here at Amazon.

Wooden spoon set - We really like this affordable, wooden utensil set, crafted from 100% FSC beechwood.See more details here at Amazon.

Wire rack – a must for letting your baked gingerbread cool down after its been in the oven – see more details here at Wilko.

You could use a madeira cake or any other standard sponge as your base if you wanted.

Why is it called Tottenham cake?

Tottenham cake is a classc British sponge traybake cake, so-called because it was originally baked by Tottenham Quakers – a religious group that met in Tottenham in London. The cake is covered either in pink icing (originally made from mulberries from the garden of the Tottenham Quaker House) or jam, and often sprinkled with dessicated coconut then cut into squares.

Traditionally, Tottenham Cake was covered with coconut, though this is not done in many modern recipes. Desiccated coconut is an optional addition to sprinkle on to the icing before it sets to give it that authentic feel.

While it's traditionally made with pink icing, there's no rule to say you can't try mixing it up with different colours if you want!

Be sure to let the cake cook completely before adding the icing, or it will melt and run off the sides. For a Bake-Off-worthy finish, start by checking that the top of the cake is flat; if not, trim a bit off the top before soaking with the icing sugar and water mix. Then add a big dollop of icing in the centre of the cake, and smooth towards the edges with a spatula or knife.

Storage tips

The finished cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days. If you want, you can freeze the sponge before you ice it, then defrost in the freezer overnight and add icing the next day.

Although this is traditionally a very simple, classic cake, our kids love making it crazy with lots of decoration. You could add sweets, fruit, marshmallows, chocolate, rainbow sprinkles... The options are endless!

Is your little one obsessed with Peppa Pig? This makes a perfect base for a Peppa Pig cake. Just draw Peppa's shape on a piece of paper (try tracing from a book), cut it out, then before adding the icing, put the stencil on top of the cake and cut around it for a perfect Peppa. Once you've added the icing, you can then decorate with sweets or different coloured icing to make her face.